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The Eye In The Sky

Of course, it never pays to be a violator anywhere doing anything. Alaska has been extremely active in pursuit of violators for decades, but helicopters seem to be getting used with increasing frequency. I've personally had AK troopers fly helicopters into my remote camps and land there to check things...twice. One minute I'm hunting...the next I've got a shiny red Robinson chopper hovering above my area and scrutinizing for clues. Five minutes later I'm pulling my paperwork and handing it to the trooper. I don't enjoy the noise and intrusion, honestly. I DO commend the state for being willing to enforce their game laws far from the roads and hundreds of miles from safety. Anyone else on these forums ever get dropped in on?

From the Fairbanks Newsminer:

FAIRBANKS — Two Interior moose hunters plead guilty to hunting violations in Nenana Court for separate incidents. Milne Ridlington, 54, of Fairbanks, plead guilty Thursday to a charge of shooting an antlered bull when his permit only allowed the taking of an antlerless moose. Ridlington was contacted by Alaska State Troopers on a helicopter patrol Dec. 30 in the Minto Flats area.
Ridlington was sentenced to one year of probation and fined $3,000. His moose was forfeited to the state and donated to charity.

On Dec. 16, Bryan Simpson, 54, of Georgia, plead guilty to charges he failed to salvage all the edible meat from a moose he took several months earlier. Troopers contacted Simpson in Fairbanks on Sept. 9 and discovered he had neglected to fully salvage a moose he had taken in the Tatlanika Creek area. Troopers investigated the kill site by helicopter. Simpson was sentenced to one year of probation and fined $2,000.

Uhh...you're not supposed to be putting names on here like that, I'm sure those will be deleted. The guy that shot the antlered bull in the antlerless hunt, then chopped them off with an axe, is the same one I mentioned on the 'antlerless moose' thread, from the Trooper Dispatch, but I just said a hunter, not who he was.

No choppers used often where I hunt moose but I've been checked by cub at least once if not twice for the past five years......either troopers or state park rangers in DLG. She lucked out this last year and we were almost done butchering my buddy's moose (80 yards from camp) so we got the real meal deal as far as being checked out from permits to boat registration to salvage to land use stuff. Passed with flyin colors but it held up the celebratory bloody mary's for a good 45 minutes.

Uhh...you're not supposed to be putting names on here like that, I'm sure it will be deleted. The guy that shot the antlered bull in the antlerless hunt, then chopped them off with an axe, is the same one I mentioned on the 'antlerless moose' thread, from the Trooper Dispatch, but I just said a hunter, not who he was.

You can put names up once they are convicted, or in this case, plead guilty. It is only when they are not yet convicted that they don't want names published in order to keep from potentially spreading the name around of someone who may still be found innocent.

Yes, we have been checked before. Just this last season, the troopers landed their plane on the beach next to our camp to check on licenses. We had wondered for a while whether that beach was big enough for a plane to land on, now we know.

Didn't know that rule anchskier, thanks. Speaking of the 'eye in the sky' now that those drones may be hovering around, think they'll be using those to spy on hunters?

Don't quote me on it... Just my understanding of it based on it's application in the past. I know they don't allow posting of names, etc... from the police blotters, but for the most part, those are not yet convicted and still have the opportunity to challenge in court. This case listed above is past that point. They just don't want people to start dragging people's names through the mud and then later find out they are innocent and the damage is already done.

I was contacted by the troopers after shooting a cow moose in the Minto area this year. They said an antlered bull was shot about 1/4 mile from us around the time we had just shot ours. They apparently caught the guys trying to bury the head in the snow. I can't remember the day I shot mine, but I think there are more headlines to come.

Well of course the intent of this thread wasn't to actually bash the violators, who have already been outed by the news media. If the moderators determine I've erred in this, by all means feel free to remove said names and no hard feelings here. I mainly wanted to share experiences with others who have been checked by aircraft or have thoughts about it. I hope to never see drones flying up and down the valleys.

Some day I'll tell you the story of getting 'checked' by military...what a day that was!

I'm all for LE doing their job to keep folks honest. But have heard more and more stories of hunts being interrupted by chopper. I disagree with that. Landing at camps are one thing, landing in the field during hunting, buzzing over hunters trying to connect, etc. is way out of line IMO.
If anyone feels the troops are wrongfully interrupting their legal hunt, be sure and contact your Reps and Sens

I can't help being a lazy, dumb, weekend warrior.......I have a JOB!
I have less friends now!!

Of course, it never pays to be a violator anywhere doing anything. Alaska has been extremely active in pursuit of violators for decades, but helicopters seem to be getting used with increasing frequency. I've personally had AK troopers fly helicopters into my remote camps and land there to check things...twice. One minute I'm hunting...the next I've got a shiny red Robinson chopper hovering above my area and scrutinizing for clues. Five minutes later I'm pulling my paperwork and handing it to the trooper. I don't enjoy the noise and intrusion, honestly. I DO commend the state for being willing to enforce their game laws far from the roads and hundreds of miles from safety. Anyone else on these forums ever get dropped in on?

From the Fairbanks Newsminer:

FAIRBANKS — Two Interior moose hunters plead guilty to hunting violations in Nenana Court for separate incidents. Milne Ridlington, 54, of Fairbanks, plead guilty Thursday to a charge of shooting an antlered bull when his permit only allowed the taking of an antlerless moose. Ridlington was contacted by Alaska State Troopers on a helicopter patrol Dec. 30 in the Minto Flats area.
Ridlington was sentenced to one year of probation and fined $3,000. His moose was forfeited to the state and donated to charity.

On Dec. 16, Bryan Simpson, 54, of Georgia, plead guilty to charges he failed to salvage all the edible meat from a moose he took several months earlier. Troopers contacted Simpson in Fairbanks on Sept. 9 and discovered he had neglected to fully salvage a moose he had taken in the Tatlanika Creek area. Troopers investigated the kill site by helicopter. Simpson was sentenced to one year of probation and fined $2,000.

Welcome to The Police State. You are lucky they didn't shoot your dog.

Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocre minds. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence. Albert Einstein

Landing at camps are one thing, landing in the field during hunting, buzzing over hunters trying to connect, etc. is way out of line IMO.

I agree, as that was all I was thinking about as I read this thread. I know I sure as hell wouldn't be happy if I had been on a long stalk for the bull of my dreams only to have a chopper hover above and scare him off. I've seen what bull moose do when they get buzzed by planes too often, I can't imagine a chopper right on top of them. To me that would constitute hunter harassment....

Sheep hunting...... the pain goes away, but the stupidity remains...!!!

In both of my cases the troopers landed near camp, as they obviously wanted to check out the scene there. In both cases there were zero problems and I ended up trading names and stories with the trooper. I felt that both were good guys. I told one of them if he'd shown up 15 minutes earlier he could've washed my back for me. I know it's not necessarily a popular attitude, but I happen to like the guys who work at protecting wildlife and good hunters, while seeking to catch violators. The chopper is very good for this, but I'll be the first to stand up and tell you I grit my teeth the whole time it's in the area. If I get frustrated, I tell myself the blame lies with the cheaters who make such methods a reality.

My military check was actually a rather comedic event...

I had just killed a fine, big bull (moose) with my longbow. My partner had walked in and joined me from 3/4 mile away and we took several pictures. While standing there and balancing the antlers, a sudden roar caught us by surprise. Straight down the valley at very low altitude came an F-16 at maybe 400 knots...right over us. We instinctively turned and watched him burn off; that's when the second Falcon scorched right over us from behind, nearly stopping our hearts. Getting wiser, I looked up the valley and saw another one coming hard and low, and he was flaring out to the side. This guy was right on the deck and backing out of the gas pedal...making a ton of noise...and then it happened. He tilted the Falcon on edge and looked directly down at us as he sailed by. A couple of wing flips, and we watched him light up the engine and fly away in curl of black smoke. After we composed ourselves I turned to Bryan and said this:

"I know I can't prove it, but I'm claiming to be the first guy ever to receive an Air Force fly-by just for killing a moose with a longbow!"

In both of my cases the troopers landed near camp, as they obviously wanted to check out the scene there. In both cases there were zero problems and I ended up trading names and stories with the trooper. I felt that both were good guys. I told one of them if he'd shown up 15 minutes earlier he could've washed my back for me. I know it's not necessarily a popular attitude, but I happen to like the guys who work at protecting wildlife and good hunters, while seeking to catch violators. The chopper is very good for this, but I'll be the first to stand up and tell you I grit my teeth the whole time it's in the area. If I get frustrated, I tell myself the blame lies with the cheaters who make such methods a reality.

My military check was actually a rather comedic event...

I had just killed a fine, big bull (moose) with my longbow. My partner had walked in and joined me from 3/4 mile away and we took several pictures. While standing there and balancing the antlers, a sudden roar caught us by surprise. Straight down the valley at very low altitude came an F-16 at maybe 400 knots...right over us. We instinctively turned and watched him burn off; that's when the second Falcon scorched right over us from behind, nearly stopping our hearts. Getting wiser, I looked up the valley and saw another one coming hard and low, and he was flaring out to the side. This guy was right on the deck and backing out of the gas pedal...making a ton of noise...and then it happened. He tilted the Falcon on edge and looked directly down at us as he sailed by. A couple of wing flips, and we watched him light up the engine and fly away in curl of black smoke. After we composed ourselves I turned to Bryan and said this:

"I know I can't prove it, but I'm claiming to be the first guy ever to receive an Air Force fly-by just for killing a moose with a longbow!"

That's a dang fine moose!
I've had the Trooper Cub circle me 5 or 6 times on my Haul Road hunts but never land. Last year they flew over and circled two days in a row and on the third day we found a card in my tent when we got back to camp. They took a jet boat up 90 miles of river to check us. I'm not complaining. In fact, I'm impressed the troopers will do (and can do) what ever it takes to help make sure we still have critters to hunt. I called the trooper when I got back and told him I would have done the same thing. Jetting 90 miles of wilderness to legitimately check a hunting sight sounds like a pretty good day at work to me.

One time two wildlife officers pulled up along side me with their snow machines and asked me for my hunting license and id. I respectfully gave them the information in which they asked for and they took off. But the strange thing was, I wasn't hunting. I was in front of my village on the river checking my under ice gill net and I didn't have any firearms. Riddle me this bat man?

The aspect I don't like about the choppers is the cost. I think there are often more cost effective ways to do the job. In this day of shrinking state revenues, all state agencies should be looking at what it costs to do the job
The one big upside of the choppers is saving out butts when needed!!

I can't help being a lazy, dumb, weekend warrior.......I have a JOB!
I have less friends now!!

The aspect I don't like about the choppers is the cost. I think there are often more cost effective ways to do the job. In this day of shrinking state revenues, all state agencies should be looking at what it costs to do the job
The one big upside of the choppers is saving out butts when needed!!

While I agree there is probably a good amount of money spent on the use of a chopper, I do believe it is necessary both for use as a means of search and rescue, but also to keep people honest in the field. I know we all want to think that everyone is an honest, ethical hunter, but I'm sure we can all admit that this is not the case for everyone. Given the opportunity for getting away with things easier would just mean more people doing bad things, it's just a fact of life. I would say somewhere upwards of 90% of hunting camps are not accessible by a plane. Many others are not accessible without long hours on a boat and/or atv to get to the site. Just knowing that the troopers are flying around and checking people with a chopper means that they could check anyone at any time. If they did not have or did not use a chopper to check people, then I could see the issue of people trying to get away with illegal things being a much bigger problem. Hey, if you know the only way into a place is on foot or by spending 8 hours on an atv with 4 river crossings, then you are probably pretty sure nobody will come by to check. But, if you know that they could stop by at any time with the chopper, well, you better keep things in good shape at all times.

I know many on here are not supportive of a "police state" type mentality, especially when it comes to hunting, but unfortunately, some of this close oversight is necessary to keep things in check. Where to draw the line is and always will be in question and probably no two people will agree where that is, so I'm not trying to get into that debate.